For Zöe: the story of Flynn and Gwaine
by Sockitysocks
Summary: This gem of weirdness came to pass at three in the morning when myself and a friend were discussing a certain resemblance between the beauty of Gwaine and Flynn Rider... Bargains were made, skittles exchanged, and I ended up promising her the fanfic for Christmas. Now this may be a little late... But I prefer to see it as efficiently early. Anyway... Zöe, I hope you enjoy!


"Eugene," I say quietly looking at the small figure next to me.

"What?" She asks, raising her tear streaked face to look at me through the darkness.

"My real names Eugene Fitzhurbet." I sigh gently. "Someone may as well know."

The water laps gently against my shoulders, it would probably be comforting if it wasn't freezing cold, and dark, and about to drown me. At least they say drowning is a easy way to go. I stare into the depth of the rising water and realise that where the floor had just been was a dim light. It's almost pretty.

"I have magic hair that glows when I sing," her voice rings out making me start out of my thoughts.

"What?"

"I have magic hair, that glows when I sing!" Her voice rises to almost a squeak.

Il fairly sure I can see ripples of new water pouring through the golden light, I think briefly for a moment that something really wants us dead but fast singing interupts me.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your magic shine," she takes in a deap breath as the water rises above our heads.

I do the same but before I can figure out what's happening a bright light blinds me. Her hair. Her hair is actually glowing! I let out a gasp and immediately regret it as the air leaves my lungs. I follow the light of her stupidly long hair and swim towards it, she follows me, I'm fairly sure we're swimming through the floor that we were standing on minutes before but I keep going.

The light of her hair picks up some rocks, loose ones. I shove at them with my hands, ignoring the pain surging through the gash across my left palm. I feel them give way, just maybe we're going to survive this.

She grasps the handle of that frying pan and drives it into the rocka, leavering them apart. Almost instantly the rocks give way and I find myself falling, an most importantly, breathing. If only for a second before I'm plunged back into water. I break through the surface and gasp, taking a deep breath of the sweet air, oh how I love air.

I drag myself to the bank of the small river I realise I'm in, and to my relief see blondie doing the same. All I can see is her hair, her hair glowing.

"We're alive," she smiles climbing nimbly out of the water. "We did it."

"Her hair glows!" I splutter. "Her hair actually glows." I lean my head on my hands. "I didn't see that coming, it actually glows."

"Eugene!"

I realise she's been calling my name.

"What?!" I don't think my voice has ever sounded so strained in my life.

"It doesn't just glow," she smiles wringing out a gallon of water from her magic hair. Her little frog thing is looking at me with a smug expression. How is that even possible? He's a frog!

"Why is he smiling at me?" I ask, aware I'm whining like a five year old.

About half an hour later I find myself sat on a log next to a warm fire. I'm surprised at how quickly I've dried off, I bet it had something to do with her hair.

She sit's down next to me and takes me hand carefully, I open my mouth to ask her what she's doing but I stop as she starts to wrap the end of her hair around the cut. i can feel my heart racing at the touch of her fingers.

"You're being strangely cryptic as you wrap your magic hair around my injured hair," I say trying to diffuse the tension.

"just promise not to freak out."

i raise an eyebrow, now I'm worrying about what's going to happen. I look at her as she begins to sing the same song she sang in the cave.

"Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine." the words are much slower, much calmer this time. "Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine."

i watch stunned as the glow reappears in her hair, travelling slowly down the stands of hair until it reaches what's wrapped around my hand. I inhale sharply as I feel a tingling around the wound, spreading up my arm. For a moment it seems that my skin glows, then the glow fades and she gently slides the hair away from the cut. Only the cut isn't there anymore.

I raise my hand infront of my face, twisting it round. There's no cut. No where. I can feel my chest restricting.

"Please don't freak out!" She gasps raising her hands.

I force my mouth shut realising that it's wide open. I put my hand under my chin to try and keep it shut. "I'm not freaking out. Are you freaking out? I'm just very intrested in your hair and the magic qualities it posesses." I speak far too quickly, the words all running into each other. Smooth. "How long has it been doing that exactly?" I try amend myself.

"Forever, I guess," she replies, she almost sounds sheepish.

The conversation turns but I'm barely paying attention, there's a warm fuzzy feeling spreading through me, pulsating through where the cut had been. I feel different somehow, like my body is... Not repairing, but that's exactly what it is; repairing.

...

Darkness engulfs me as I scramble into the dim room, the relief fades. Something isn't right. I hear a muffled cry, no, somethings wrong. Then I see her, gagged and bound.

"Rapunzel?" I feel someone behind me and pain explodes through my side. I gasp as the blade pierces my skin, my knees buckle and I fall to the floor, the pain surging through me, stopping me thinking. My hands are already wet with blood, I'm loosing too much, there's nothing I can do.

I can hear her shouting something, I think she's trying to save me. But there's nothing she can do. Unless, no. She wouldn't. She is. She's giving herself to that witch in return for saving me, I can't let that happen.

Cold metal clamps around my wrist as the shackles are tightened. 'In case you get any ideas about following us,' her scratchy voice leers at me. As if I could follow her, I'm bleeding to death on a floor.

Her coldness is replaced by the warmth of Rapunzel, I can't let her sacrifice herself for me. She deserves to live, she deserves to live a life that is worthy of the person she is. She won't be kept a prisoner by some ancient crone if I have anything to do with it.

I know I'm saying something but I'm not entirely sure what, I'm thinking about what I'm about to do. She'd probably kill me for it if I lived to see the result.

I grip the shard of the mirror in my hand and with a last exert of energy I slice it through her hair.

I vaguely hear the screams of that witch, but the world is fuzzy. it's like I'm being given a hug by cotton wool.

Rapunzel's singing again, I love that song. So full of hope, she'll be fine on her own.

I let my eyes roll back and the world fades completely.  
But it doesn't.

Something's there...  
pulling me back,  
keeping me there...

Something in my chest feels hot, like a burn. In an instant it spreads through my entire body, burning, healing. There's a bright light, I'm not sure where it's coming from; it seems to be coming from me. As if the fire inside is leaking to the outside. My back arches with the pain, but almost as quickly as it began it stops. I lie still for a moment, then cautiously open my eyes.

She's there, of course she's there. I cough lightly as the air hits my lungs again, 'did I ever tell you I have a thing for brunettes?' I joke as she hugs me tightly. I move my arms to hold her and realise that the shackles have split, I'm alive and I'm not chained to a post. That's a pretty good end to the day if you ask me.

...

I don't know how long it is exactly from that night, but I can still remember it clearly. I walk through the forest I used to spend so much time in, it's foreign to me now. The path ways I used to live with have changed and the trees all look the same. I do miss it, I miss the thrill of the chase, that's why I used to steal things, not to survive, well partly in some cases, but it was more to feel alive. The blood pumping through your veins, the sound of your feet on the earth, the excitement of knowing that you'll win, because you always do. I do miss it.

I walk until I'm not sure how to get back, I never would have been able to get lost in this wood, and now I sit on a tree stump staring at the unfamiliar trees not knowing which way I should go. I sigh and close my eyes leaning against the trunk. Something flickering against my eyelids makes me look up. A giant, glittering... thing. I don't know what else to call it. I stand up and walk towards it, it feels strangely warm. I pick up a small stone and throw it towards the thing, it passes into the light and disappears. Cautiously I take another step forward, and another, and all of a sudden I'm standing in another wood, the light behind me. The stone I threw is at my feet. I pick it up and turn it over in my hand, I don't exactly know what's happening, but if I'm being honest I don't particularly care either.  
I hear a yell and there's a sharp pain in my chest. The shaft of an arrow is sticking between my ribs. How am I not dead? I should be dead. I feel the familiar burning in my chest, as I see my attackers running towards me. The power explodes from me in that orange light that filled that tower room all that time again, I don't know exactly what happens as the light covers me, but it hurts so much more this time. It's like my face is being torn from me.

The pain fades with the light and I see the bodies of the bandits lying on the ground. I take a step forward but my clothes suddenly feel really uncomfortable, like they don't fit me anymore. I rub my hand across my face, but it feels different. My hair is longer, and my chin is covered in stubble. I search in the pockets of the men until I find a mirror that I assume they stole of a lady. I look different, I'm still as gorgeous, but different.

Some time later I'm walking aimlessly through the forest, the flickery light had gone by the time I had changed into more comfortable clothes so I was left with no idea what had just happened. My thoughts are interrupted as a tavern comes into sight. That's something I recognise, a tavern. I know taverns like the back of my hand, but there's something not quite right in this one. Two men, they seam perfectly at ease but I can tell that they don't belong here. The blond one holds himself strangely, as if he thinks he's above a lowly tavern, but not in an unkind way if that's possible.

I get talking to one of the men at another table, I'm definitely not where I was before. No one seems to have heard of the lost princess, and apparently they have a young king here. Arthur Pendragon they say his name is.  
I notice the two men, the dark haired and the blond in some argument. Something lights up in my eyes, it's been far too long since I fought in a tavern.  
I saunter over to the dark haired boy.

i can make a new life for myself, get a new name, a new beginning.

'Im Gwaine,' I say cheerily. 'What do they call you?'

I take a sip out of the pitcher in my hands.

'Im Merlin,' he replies.


End file.
